Dear Editor,
So, who’s next, Cuba, Greenland, Colombia, Mexico? Given free reign (sic) by a court that every tyrant and thug on the planet would love to have in their corners, our dictator, in the one or two lucid moments he has each day, has apparently decided to take over the Western Hemisphere all by himself.
He knows we don’t want a king to rule us. We’ve played that card twice already. What he must know is what we do want; we demand his insane criminal ass be removed from the White House.
It is time for the New York Times to list the reasons for his impeachment and conviction and/or his removal from office via the 25th Amendment with a demand that Congress act accordingly. He is the only one in our history to hold the office of president who so easily qualifies for removal under either of these two Constitutional scenarios.
It is time for millions of Americans to make clear to Congress that his criminal regime can no longer stand. America was not built for fascism and we will not accept it. No more “No Kings.” Instead, a national demand for his removal from office. The pressure that was brought to bear on the Epstein case must again be brought to bear on getting him out of office.
It is time to rid ourselves of the most dangerous, corrupt, despicable, lawless, insane and criminal presidency this country has ever endured.
It is time to demand he be gone now, before it’s too late.
John C. Ficor
Richmond, Va.
John:
Some argue that Vance would be worse. Because he does not appear to be suffering from terminal dementia, he could more effectively work to further the ends of the tech bros who hold his strings. That argument feels morally suspect, though—and dangerous. The incumbent is the very model of a loose cannon on deck.
Impeachment still seems unlikely, but good lord! How much more incoherent must he become?
The Editor
–=≈=–
DiLorenzo’s Automated Hero Quest
Dear Sir:
I applaud Mr. DiLorenzo for his great business success and his philanthropic endeavors. Well done. Unfortunately, I found his overall commentary and his introducing himself as a candidate to be our next Congressman in today’s Portsmouth Herald very long on rhetoric, generalities, and with the typical mantra about overregulation, taxes, hard work, competition and special interests, etc., while completely omitting any specifics or details. Perhaps he plans on sharing more details regarding his positions in the future. However, I have a number of questions I suggest the candidate consider advising the voters about.
Mr. DiLoerenzo was very adamant about what he considered the serious problem of overregulation, “burdensome regulations” and “bureaucratic red tape.” In fact he mentions this at least four times in his article. Obviously, Mr. DiLorenzo must have some specific knowledge and experience regarding regulations. With that in mind, I think Mr. DiLorenzo should share what specific regulations he thinks should be eliminated or adjusted, and why he thinks these regulations are a burden. He should also indicate what industries or individuals might be harmed or benefit from the regulations he might propose to eliminate or reduce, and if he will accept any campaign contributions from any industries or individuals who benefit from his deregulation efforts. He stated that, “My approach will be guided by common sense and a commitment to serve only the people of this district, not special interests.” We have heard that claim before. The devil is in the details.
I also look forward to getting much more specific and detailed proposals about taxes, spending, and the national debt and how he plans to “drive down costs, improve the quality of goods and services, while keeping citizens, workers and consumers safe,” by “unleashing private-sector competition.” We deserve specific answers from Mr. DiLorenzo and how he plans on achieving these results. After all, he stated that “Good government should be about results, not rhetoric.”
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
How deftly you wield the rapier, here, to puncture Mr. DiLorenzo’s hot air balloon. Bravo!
We went back to reread the bit of campaign literature you mention, which the editors at the Herald—assuming that that paper has not yet succumbed to the temptation to turn over such menial tasks to a computer, and still uses human editors—generously allowed DiLorenzo to publish under the guise of a “Guest Columnist.”
Obviously intended as an inspiring, rags-to-riches tale, it turned out to be remarkably bland, even soporific. Here’s a guy who starts out poor—well, semi-poor; by his own admission he started his business with nearly $40,000 in cash and credit at his disposal—and went on to own a 12-acre private island in the ritziest part of the Congressional District he wants to represent.
How could such a story be so predictable and boring? Being all too human ourselves, we had a hunch. We plugged DiLorenzo’s text into an AI detector—zerogpt.com, to be specific. It concluded, “Most of Your Text is AI/GPT Generated: 78.7 percent.”
So, DiLorenzo seems comfortable letting a machine write his own quest narrative. Who, we wonder, will write bills for him? Or decide for him how to vote?
The Editor
–=≈=–
Welcome to Health Care, California
Dear Editor,
Trump appointed worm-brained RFK Jr. to lead the HHS department and destroy our country’s world-wide supremacy in medical science and public health. Funding for scientific research has been withdrawn. Science is supplanted by conspiracy theories, superstition, snake-oil hucksterism, and disregard for authentic scientific knowledge.
But there is reason for hope that trump and RFK Jr. will fail. California’s Governor Newsom is hiring respected former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish world-leading public health science in California, for California and for a growing consortium of other states. An emerging 15-state “Governors’ Public Health Alliance” will provide guidance from actual scientific research on vaccines, medications, testing for dangerous new diseases, and response coordination to health threats. Becoming the first U.S. state to join the World Health Organization, California’s Health Alliances will replace the MAGA-undermined CDC, and may even rescue the U.S.A. from becoming a second-rate scientific has-been.
Bruce Joffe
Piedmont, Calif.
Bruce:
What’s this? Good news? We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969…
We do have a slight quibble. Quite justifiably, you bring up the spectre of “the U.S.A. … becoming a second-rate scientific has-been.” Didn’t you mean, “a second-rate, disease-ridden scientific has-been”?
The Editor
–=≈=–
Trump Kills Kilowatts for New England
To the Editors:
Just in time for a holiday present for New Englanders, the trump [sic, passim] administration has suspended the federal leases for all large offshore wind projects currently under construction. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum cited radar interference from large offshore wind farms as a national security risk. The wind farms are largely already in place and the issue of radar interference has been addressed and resolved, even before construction began. Further, the wind farms aren’t going away by suspending the leases, and any radar interference they actually do produce has not resulted in any adverse events to date. So suspending the leases has NO EFFECT on national security. As with so many other acts and assertions by the trump administration, no supporting evidence or new studies have been forthcoming to support the suspension of the leases. Instead the suspension appears to be a result of the president’s long term irrational attacks against offshore wind. Or are offshore wind enterprises, as a group, being punished for not contributing enough to Trump’s many illegal funds and crypto enterprises? No bribe, no leases?
For New Englanders who bemoan high energy costs, this is a serious blow to their wallets. The nearly SIX GIGAWATTS of electricity these projects would produce, said to be enough to power more than 2.5 million homes and businesses, would increase the overall supply of electricity as well as shortening its delivery, thereby bringing significant financial relief for New England consumers. At a time when the demands for electricity are rising dramatically, due, in part, to AI and Blockchain needs, wouldn’t it be in consumers’ best interests to have all sources of electricity producing at capacity? In lieu of a financial benefit to Trump enterprises sufficient enough to encourage him to reverse the federal lease suspensions, it still behooves each and every New Englander to write to their elected representatives in Congress to protest this petty, vindictive act by the president. It may not precipitate a change, but at least we might feel better.
Paul Cully
Dover, N.H.
Paul:
We applaud your restraint. Without asserting the un-knowable, i.e., the motives of the man in question, which would have raised questions regarding your own credibility, you have provided a strong case.
Halting these leases will, as you make clear, do harm to electricity consumers in New England, to companies that are risking capital in environmentally responsible ventures, and to the banks that finance them.
The administration would have us believe that there are legitimate reasons for the federal government to interfere in the market in this way. The administration apparently believes that all of us are as dumb as its most fervent supporters.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Much Ado About a Couple of Things
[No salutation]
Oops (AGAIN) 1: New Hampshire Gazette, December 12th: page 8, the entry for Friday, December 19th, reads: “1907—An explosion kills 289 coal miners . . . in Smithton, Pa.”
No! It occurred ca. a mile south near the village of Van Meter on the Youghiogheny River.
Oops 2: in the same issue, in the entry for Dec. 25: “1793—After gathering the bones of hundreds soldiers massacred two years earlier by Indians and burying them in a massive pit, troops under General… Wayne build Ft. Recovery, Ohio atop the mass grave.”
NO! I was not a massacre. The ill prepared and led “army” of 920 men were attacked by a three-tribe coalition of ca. 1000 warriors in the largely-forgotten Battle of the Wabash in the N.W. Territory. Ninety-seven percent of the soldiers were casualties. It was the most decisive loss in the history of the U.S. military and the largest loss ever to Native Americans.
Dr. John K. Folmar, PhD
California, Pa.
Dr. John:
Deeply offended by your casual omission of that common courtesy, a proper salutation, we were prepared, initially, to fight over every aspect of your letter—just as we did four years ago, when you originally raised these same two issues. Having mellowed, though, slightly, very slightly, over the intervening 1,461 days, we concede both your points.
We used to give Smithton as the site of the December 19, 1907 coal mine explosion because the two locations are just 1.4 miles apart and Smithton has roughly three times the population of Van Meter. Our theory was that Smithton would be easier for the reader to locate on a map. Thanks to research prompted by you, we’ve learned that Smithton’s population is only about 300 anyway. Van Meter it is, henceforth. Sadly, we’re unable at this time to squeeze in the lovely name of the Youghiogheny River. Perhaps a future re-write will give us more space.
As for the term massacre, we checked a variety of dictionaries and ye olde standby, Wikipedia. The latter seems to offer the clearest defense of your position: “A massacre is an event of killing people or animals who are not engaged in hostilities [emphasis added] or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted mass killing of civilians by an armed group.” It cites the Cambridge Dictionary, which we tried to access. It’s been hung up for some time now trying to decide whether or not the editor is human.
So, you win again—or, to put it less competitively, we all win.
Thank you sincerely for bringing up these points. In this instance, you inadvertently caused us to discover that we had been listing the 1907 Monongah, W. Va. mining disaster on the wrong date. Needless to say, that error will not be repeated if we can help it.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Lest We Forget
Editor,
Isn’t it time to speak the truth about the Trump peace plan in Gaza? Aside from the continued Israeli bombardments and killings, isn’t it time to allow aid in and Israel out of Gaza? That poor place is a graveyard for all those buried under the rubble. Gazans need to be allowed to grieve in peace and rebuild based on what suits them, not a site for a Trump-style casino, or real estate for further illegal Israeli settlements.
Palestinians own Palestine. Occupation does not mean ownership. However, there are obligations for the Occupier, such as allowing aid in, including food, water, medicine, tents, and materials for rebuilding. Gazans know how to fish and farm, build, and run businesses. They are among the best educated in the world, with a 97 percent literacy rate. Isn’t it time to let Gazans do what they need to do without further interference, such as continuing the genocide? Insofar as the so-called peace plan, Gazans/Palestinians weren’t even consulted. Aside from a need for international funds for rebuilding, our attitude is not only paternalistic but embarrassing.
Genevieve Harris-Fraser
Orange, Mass.
Genevieve:
The tenets of Western Culture, aka the Judeo-Christian Tradition, hold that injustices here on Earth are relatively inconsequential. Sufferers will reap untold rewards in the next life. Therefore, Gazans should be grateful that they are being bombed, shot, frozen, and starved.
The Editor
–=≈=–
The Judge Dugan Conviction
To the Editor:
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who has now stepped down from the bench, was convicted by a federal jury of felony obstruction for directing Eduardo Flores‑Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant, toward a back exit after learning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were waiting in the building. If the conviction is upheld, Dugan faces up to five years in prison.
In her resignation letter, Dugan writes: “As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded… I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary.”
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign issued a coalition statement contending that the conviction sets “a dangerous precedent,” and that “(t)his case was never about one individual. It was about whether people can still walk into a courthouse without fear and trust the justice system to protect them.”
Notably, leaked ICE data analyzed by the Cato Institute show that 73 percent of people booked into ICE detention this fiscal year have no criminal convictions, nearly half lack even pending charges, and only 5 percent have violent convictions—contradicting claims of targeting “the worst of the worst.”
Legal scholar Samera Esmeir coined the term “juridical humanity,” meaning the way law defines who counts as human. Esmeir describes the history of juridical humanity as a “tale about loss,” including “the loss of the human to modern law, when the law laid claim to a monopoly over the power to declare the presence of the human.”
Applied to Trump-era immigration policy and cases like Judge Dugan’s, it captures how people are rendered “human” only to the extent that they fit a legal status the state recognizes and values.
Current immigration practices embody this concept: threats of denaturalization against “disloyal” citizens and mass deportations to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison—often ignoring due process or torture allegations—relegate migrants to a downgraded humanity.
Law doesn’t just close borders; it manufactures lesser humans.
Congress’ failure to pass immigration reform helps entrench juridical humanity by freezing an outdated legal system and forcing battles over humanity into executive and judicial discretion, instead of democratic lawmaking.
Comprehensive reform has stalled for over two decades, leaving millions in precarious or “liminal” status—the undocumented, Dreamers (DACA), people with Temporary Protected Status, and long-term residents—whose basic life conditions depend on fragile, reversible policies rather than secure legal personhood.
In juridical humanity terms, Congress keeps in place a hierarchy where some people are fully recognized humans (citizens), while others are only partially recognized and can be detained, deported, or excluded with fewer protections because their legal status is unresolved or deliberately kept temporary.
Significantly, this past February, the White House posted a dehumanizing video on X of shackled and downcast detainees boarding airplanes, accompanied by the sounds of jangling chains and the revving of airplane engines. The post was titled “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight.”
ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) videos use visuals and sound to create a relaxing, tingling sensation that helps viewers de-stress. Elon Musk, then head of the Department of Government Efficiency, retweeted the post, writing “Haha wow,” along with emojis of a troll and a medal.
While the ideological façade of Trump’s immigration policies is the protection of U.S. citizens, its goals clearly include humiliation and cruelty.
The Declaration of Independence is prominently displayed behind President Trump’s Oval Office desk. Its ideals proclaim that “all men are created equal” and “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” and that governments are “instituted” only “to secure” these pre-existing rights—not to grant or revoke them.
Honoring the dignity of immigrants, including those without legal status, is an act of resistance, an attempt to reclaim humanity from a restrictive, legally imposed form.
If appellate courts overturn Dugan’s conviction, they will keep open a small, vital space where the law can still be forced, by both judges and movements, to acknowledge a humanity it did not create and has no legitimate authority to erase.
Terry Hansen
Grafton, Wisc.
Terry:
Thank you very much for this lucid explanation of these issues. Comprehending these horrors is the essential first step towards stopping them.
The Editor
–=≈=–
What Would a “Christian Nation” Do?
Dear Editor:
At a recent conference V.P Vance stated, “The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation.” While the Constitution does not support that assessment, for the sake of discussion, since Christmas celebrates the birth of the founder of Christianity, let’s assume Vance’s statement is true.
If in fact we are a “Christian nation” what does that mean? I would suggest that being a “Christian nation” means that we follow the six ethical teachings of Jesus, honesty, humility, authenticity, truthfulness, promise-keeping and sincerity. The true test of being a “Christian Nation” would be on how the actions of our government and its leaders mirror and reflect these ethical teachings of Christ. Unfortunately, we have been failing this test in almost every area.
Would Jesus, who cured the sick take health care away from the sick and the poor? Would Jesus who fed the multitudes, take food away from the hungry? Would Jesus who brought Lazarus back to life, kill the survivors of a destroyed boat? Would Jesus lie to the people on a regular basis? Would Jesus build monuments to himself? Would Jesus use his position to increase his personal wealth? Would Jesus who forgave his enemies attack his supposed enemies and try to harm them? Would Jesus who preached poverty, give huge tax cuts to the wealthy and deprive the poor? Would Jesus who protected children, cover for or protect those who harmed children? Would Jesus, who’s father created the earth, work to destroy the planet? Would Jesus who preached peace threaten war with its neighbors? In fact, would Jesus behave like the leaders of our nation are currently behaving?
Calling yourself or your nation a “Christian Nation” does not make you one if your actions and policies contradict that name. The test of a true “Christian Nation” or any nation that considers itself ethical and civilized, is in how closely they follow the ethical teachings of Jesus. Actions speak louder than words.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
As a rule, we get a little itchy when the public discourse veers into theological debates. In fact, we’d like to see that absurd wall on our southern border re-purposed, re-enforced with titanium, and permanently placed between church and state—where it has always belonged.
That said, we cannot imagine having any objection if all Americans were to spontaneously begin to adhere to the principles you mention here—provided they did so without grandstanding about it.
After all, it is is written in Matthew 6:5-6, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
The Editor
–=≈=–
Who’s Calling Whom a Thief?
Dear Editor,
trump [sic, passim] says he invaded Venezuela because they stole “our” oil !
But how did “we” come to own Venezuela’s oil ?
We set up local dictators who then “sold” their country’s resources to Yanqui corporations. It was “strictly business”!
In time, those dictators fell to democratic rebellions. When those revolutions’ popular democracies came to power, they nationalized their country’s resources.
Now trump has stolen back what we stole previously, when Yanqui Imperialism ruled the hemisphere.
This expansion of dominance in the Americas is made possible by withdrawing our military assets from Europe and the Middle East, which trump is handing over to Putin. A global realignment is unfolding, with the U.S.A.’s influence severely diminished by a president who admires dictators like Putin and Xi.
Bruce Joffe
Piedmont, Calif.
Bruce:
Clearly you didn’t get the latest Executive Order. By default, everything everywhere belongs the the U.S.A.! And, as the Greatest President Who Ever Lived, Or Ever Will Live, everything the U.S.A owns belongs to… a geezer who, if he isn’t droning away in front of a camera, repeating his 300-word vocabulary in random order, is probably falling asleep.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Trump’s Fantastic Math
To the Editor:
If you have a $10 item for sale and you lower the price by 100 percent you are lowering the price by $10. If you lower the price by 200 percent you are lowering it by $20. In short you are paying the customer $10 to take away the item. Donald Trump claimed he negotiated price cuts of drugs of 400, 500 even 600 percent, meaning drug companies would be paying you three, four, or five times the drug’s price to fill your medications. That isn’t reality. That is fantasy.
Trump claimed he inherited the worst inflation in 48 years or maybe the worst ever. In 2024 inflation was 2.8 percent. In 2007 it was 4.3 percent. Trump claimed he would lower prices on his first day in office. That did not happen. In fact, prices are up 2.7 percent in the first 11 months this year.
Trump says his tariffs are bringing back manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing jobs have gone down, not up this year. Unemployment has risen.
The American people have been willing to ignore Trump’s lies about things that did not affect them, but not about rents, health care, food and the rest of the cost of living.
Their votes this year show they do not trust him or his party.
Walter Hamilton
Portsmouth, N.H.
Walter:
We would never claim to be mathematicians, but every time we hear the Blowhard-in-Chief repeat these ludicrous claims, we can hear our own synapses committing apoptosis.
Considering the synergy between his mathematical and economic idiocies, those Americans who have carelessly failed to avail themselves of our Great Nation’s myriad opportunities to become disgustingly wealthy are in for a rough time, to be sure. Like you, we hope that voters remember this November.
Now that Commander Bone Spur has done the once-unthinkable yet again—launching an invasion without Congressional approval and kidnapping a foreign head of state—perhaps we ought to take more seriously the likelihood that he’ll monkey wrench the elections.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Keep New Hampshire Accountable
To the Editor:
Throughout the course of New Hampshire’s 2025 legislative session, the voices of Granite State citizens were silenced, as thousands of public comments submitted via the legislature’s remote sign in system, on a wide variety of bills, were disregarded, ignored, thrown in the trash by leadership of House and Senate committees.
This is not the way our government is supposed to function. Citizen participation has always been the bedrock of the New Hampshire legislative process. Our New Hampshire Constitution—which legislators are sworn to uphold—demands that public officials are, at all times, accountable to the people, not the other way around.
In order to restore the voices of N.H. citizens, Rep. Janet Lucas, prime sponsor, and 10 co-sponsors have introduced a bill for 2026, HB 1114, which would require standing committees of the N.H. House and N.H. Senate to produce reports of public comments for each bill referred to the Committee, that would explain clearly how the committees considered public comments in determining their recommendation on the bill. The reports would be overseen by the committee chair and ranking member, or their designees, and would become a part of the permanent record of the bill.
This is the same reasonable requirement that the legislature placed on state agencies, in regard to administrative rules, when it almost unanimously overrode former Governor Sununu’s veto of HB 1622, 2024, now law.
N.H. lawmakers of integrity and good conscience, on both sides of the aisle, should welcome this critically important bill.
Jean Slepian
Stoddard, N.H.
Jean:
Thanks for writing. Now let’s see whether the high-handed leadership lets this bill pass.
We haven’t been to Stoddard since the late 1980s, when some moneyed lunatic tried to surround remote, placid Pickerel Cove with over 100 condos. Somewhere in those woods there is—or was—a bronze plaque commemorating the people’s victory. Do you know if it’s still there? And while we’re indulging in nostalgia, how about Eaton’s Store? Are they still selling little balsa wood airplanes?
The Editor